A Brooklyn man with deep roots in the Lucchese crime family admitted in federal court that he leaned on his own online "mob profile" to scare business owners into paying up, according to court papers. Prosecutors say he texted a screenshot of the page to one target to show he "meant business," demanded luxury watches and cash, and even threatened to "spray" a merchant‑cash business with a gun. Filings describe him squeezing roughly $50,000 from one man and now facing a multiyear federal sentence recommendation, a case that mixes old‑school extortion with very 2020s digital swagger.
Joseph "Spanky" Cutaia, 47, is identified in filings as the grandson of the late Lucchese capo Domenico Cutaia and a longtime Brooklyn associate, per Wikipedia. The entry notes earlier run‑ins with the law and a December 2024 indictment that charged him with extortion tied to alleged payoffs in 2023 and 2024.
According to court filings reviewed by the New York Daily News, prosecutors say Cutaia texted a screenshot of his face on a "mob facts" website to one extortion victim in December 2023 as proof he was serious. The filings say he demanded two high‑end watches, a Rolex Daytona with a gold face and black leather band and a Patek Philippe Nautilus, and in total squeezed roughly $50,000 from one man. In April 2024, they say, he showed up at a merchant‑cash‑advance office, threatened to "spray the place" with a gun and demanded $100,000. Prosecutors also point to recorded calls from the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn in which Cutaia compared himself to bank robber John Dillinger, and they are asking a judge for roughly 5 to 6.5 years in prison, with a separate June 26 hearing where they are seeking another two years.
What the charges carry
Federal extortion prosecutions can carry stiff penalties. The Hobbs Act (18 U.S.C. § 1951), often used for extortion that affects commerce, authorizes up to 20 years in prison, per Cornell’s Legal Information Institute. Judges typically consult the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and weigh factors like the scope of the scheme, threats of violence and a defendant’s criminal history when imposing a sentence, so prosecutors’ recommended 5 to 6.5 year range reflects how seriously they are treating the case.
Defense stance
Cutaia’s attorney, Gary Cutler, argues that his client thought one of the payors was a friend and the other was the brother of a friend, and that the money and watches were part of personal dealings, not an organized racketeering play. In filings quoted by the New York Daily News, Cutler says Cutaia misread personal connections as business arrangements and did not intend to terrorize anyone.
Sentencing is expected in Brooklyn federal court. Until then, the filings lay out a case where classic mob‑style threats collide with online self‑promotion, and it will be up to a judge to sort through dueling portrayals of a neighborhood tough guy versus a man who says he misjudged his own swagger.
